1. An economic system is
a. a set of institutional arrangements used to allocate scarce resources.
b. the movement of capital between countries.
c. how wealth is distributed and created in a country.
d. the natural resource available.
e. none of the above.
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2. Contemporary economic change in Eastern Europe was preceded by
a. declining economic performance.
b. political change.
c. the withdrawal of Soviet backing.
d. all of the above.
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3. Prior to the onset of economic reform in the late 1980s, the Soviet Union and most Eastern European countries allocated resources primarily by means of
a. Markets.
b. national economic plans.
c. neither a nor b.
d. both a and b.
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4. Prices in the planned socialist systems were generally set by
a. supply and demand forces in the market.
b. the state.
c. external forces through international trade.
d. none of the above.
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5. A major political change in the former planned socialist economies has been
a. the end of the political domination of Communist regimes.
b. the strengthening of the Communist regimes in combination with economic decentralization.
c. the full implementation of Western-style democracy.
d. all of the above.
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6. The modern approach to defining economic systems
a. is based on the Ć¢ĀĀismsĆ¢ĀĀ of capitalism and socialism.
b. emphasizes resource allocation arrangements over incentive systems.
c. defines economic systems according to a number of characteristics.
d. states that defining economic systems is impossible.
e. none of the above.
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7. The major attributes of an economic system are
a. its population and capital resources.
b. its level of GDP.
c. its level of GDP per capita.
d. its economic policies.
e. none of the above.
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8. One very important characteristic of organizations in the comparing of economic systems is
a. the nature of economies of scale.
b. whether they exhibit capitalism or socialism.
c. the use of computers in the organization.
d. the level of centralization or decentralization of decisions.
e. none of the above.
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9. A planned economy is one in which
a. subunits are coordinated by directives formulated by a superior agency.
b. subunits are not induced by appropriate incentives to carry out plan directives.
c. market allocation is combined with planned allocation.
d. a ministerial system prevails.
e. none of the above.
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10. Ownership rights may affect economic outcomes because
a. public and private owners may have different time preferences.
b. public ownership may mean more attention to social rates of return.
c. the distribution of income is affected by ownership arrangements.
d. answers a and b are correct. e. answers a, b, and c are correct.
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11. Which of the following would not be classified as an economic-environmental factor?
a. Natural resource endowments
b. The size of the economy
c. The nature of decision-making arrangements
d. The economyĆ¢ĀĀs per capita income
e. The economyĆ¢ĀĀs labor force
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12. If one finds that the planned socialist economies all have higher growth rates than capitalist countries, this shows that
a. planned socialism necessarily produces higher growth than capitalism.
b. planned socialism may produce higher growth than capitalism, ceteris paribus.
c. capitalism may produce higher growth than planned socialism, ceteris paribus.
d. capitalism necessarily produces higher growth than planned socialism.
e. both b and c are correct.
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13. National priorities tend to be
a. the same for countries that have similar economic systems.
b. the same for all countries.
c. different for different countries.
d. completely unknown.
e. none of the above.
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14. Economic growth measures
a. the increase in nominal income.
b. the increase in the volume of output on either a total or a per capita basis.
c. the growth of efficiency.
d. the growth of productivity.
e. none of the above.
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15. A measure of economic instability is
a. the unemployment rate.
b. the inflation rate.
c. the business cycle.
d. the Lorenz curve.
e. all except d are correct.
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16. In the real world, most economic systems are in fact
a. centralized systems.
b. mixed systems.
c. market systems.
d. planned systems.
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17. Although economic reform is difficult to characterize with precision, reform in planned socialist systems has typically been thought of as
a. revolutionary or abrupt in character.
b. occurring gradually over time.
c. successful in most cases.
d. none of the above.
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18. In the United States, social security transfers as a percentage of the gross national product have
a. increased.
b. decreased.
c. remained the same.
d. fluctuated but with a significant downward trend.
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19. In the industrialized capitalist systems, taxes as a percentage of the gross national product have
a. increased.
b. decreased slightly.
c. decreased greatly.
d. remained the same.
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20. In contemporary capitalist economic reforms, privatization means
a. expansion of private ownership of the means of production.
b. improvement of planning methods.
c. implementation of worker management.
d. none of the above.
